Customer Service Sundays with Crystal Gayle of Crystal Gayle Photo!

How do WESTies go the extra mile for you? This Sunday we visit with Crystal Gayle of Crystal Gayle Photo to learn about her awesome customer service!

 

"Packaging any order for a customer is a lot of fun. When I ship my pillow covers, I fold them up neatly, tying them together with a red ribbon, and then insert into a clear envelope. Greeting cards and prints are also shipped in clear sleeves for extra protection. "

"All my orders, including prints, greeting cards, magnetic calendars and to do lists are packaged with a mini thank you card which includes a thank you coupon code for repeat customers. I also slip in a business card, and a copy of their invoice, again with a thank you written on there."

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Photography Workshop

On Sunday March 2, three brave WEST members ventured out into the relentless cold to get to Shauna Townley's photography studio in the Exchange district.

First off, Shauna showed us how to make a light box out of materials you probably have on hand. I won't go into the how-to here, but if you search "lightbox tutorial" you will get lots of options to look at. You can make a light box any size to suit your products. She also talked about other options, including fabric and coroplast to diffuse the light.

Next, Shauna talked about lighting, including types of lighting, how different lighting can make colours appear differently, lighting setup and angles, and inexpensive options for light sources. In the picture above, you can see an inexpensive LED work light on a tripod, which provides great light and is easy to find at home improvement stores. One great feature of LED lights is that they stay cool, which is great for the photographer while working, plus you can put filters over them without danger of melting/fire.

Shauna gave us some tips specific to our own products, including how to reduce glare on ceramic items (Lisa) and how to bring out the texture of crochet and fabric items (Alisia & Laura).

She also suggested getting to know the manual settings on our cameras, and moving away from the automatic settings. Understanding depth of field and other manual settings can make the difference between acceptable and fabulous photographs.

If there's one thing we all took away from the workshop, it was to read our camera manuals and spend time getting to know our own cameras!

I took a couple of test shots with Shauna's light box and one of my books. I don't use a light box myself because of the size of my items. You can see when I'm only showing the front cover above, it fits in the light box, but if I open it up to show the front and back (below), it's too large. While I could use a much bigger box to make a light box for my items, it would take up a lot of room when not in use. I did come away with some other ideas on how to set up my photographs with appropriate lighting that I will work on in the future.

When Laura of PrairiePeasant and PrairieThreads is not photographing her products she is stitching books and baskets for her etsy shops.

WEST Photography Workshop

In 2013 WEST was the thankful recipient of a photography workshop put on for us by 

Shauna Townley Photography.

One of our members opened up her home for us and Shauna shared how to make a light box, inexpensive lighting suggestions and much more!

The photos shared here were taken by one of the attendees, boy have I got a lot to learn!

Today we are happy to announce another collaboration with the talented Shauna!

WEST PHOTOGRAPHY LIGHTING WORKSHOP:
How to create stunning product shots without using fancy equipment.
Hosted by Shauna Townley, professional photographer and film maker, with over 18 years experience.
Date: SUNDAY, MARCH 2nd
Time: 1pm - 3pm
Location: Shauna Townley Photography Studio. 500-63 Albert Street.
Cost: $17 (tax included) per person.
Please send Paypal payment to stownley@shaw.ca to reserve your spot.
www.shaunatownleyphotography.com
204-612-1796
Shauna has asked that participants bring their cameras and an item that they would like to photograph.

WESTie Tips: Product Photography

Product photo questions are always headed my way, and most likely because I do product photography for other businesses. So a few things that I find to be quite helpful are:

1. A light box with simple backgrounds. A light box helps to filter your light so it's not too harsh on your objects. It also keeps your shiny and glass products looking cleaner with less reflection from objects around the room. You can build your own light box http://www.digital-photography-school.com/how-to-make-a-inexpensive-light-tent (which didn’t go well for me and I didn’t like the fact that it didn’t clean up nice and compact). Photography stores do have a wide variety of light boxes to suit your needs.

2. A tripod and a remote shutter release. A still camera results in a non-blurry photo. Most cameras can be mounted to a tripod; however, not all cameras are compatible with a remote. If a remote is not available for your camera, try the timer setting.

3. Bright lights. Natural lighting is best but not always possible. Daylight lights are available and I find work best for me! Some lights will give your object a bluish look, while others will throw more of a orangey-yellow look to your objects.

 4. Photo editing programs. Clean up your photos, correct the lighting if you didn't get it just right, and crop out any unwanted extras that sometimes show up on the edges of your photo. There are many types of photo editing programs available for a small cost. I use Photoshop Elements which is an editing program that has more options than a lot of people will ever need. 

5. Focus. Focus your camera on your products rather than props if possible! If you have a model wearing your product, be sure to have your product and your model in focus!

6. Time. It takes time to set up your product for shooting and capturing it in its best light and angles! Don't rush yourself! Good pictures are required to sell your product online.

7. Take pictures of your items at different angles. If you want to stage your product, use something that lends to it, not takes away. Shoot it in a way it could be used so customers have an idea what to do with it!

8. Simple backgrounds are often best as your main focus is on the product itself.

I do tend to shoot in manual mode, rather than in Auto, giving me a lot more control over how my photo is going to turn out. This means adjusting your aperture, shutter speed, ISO, and even the white balance.

The biggest thing for me when I browse items online that I'm considering purchasing are the photos. If they aren't clear and crisp or well lit, I will usually go on to the next shop. It may sound a bit biased, but how do you really know what the quality of the product is if the photo isn't quality? If you don't feel confident in producing quality photos, hire someone to do this for you who is experienced and has the equipment to do it.

If you have any photography related questions you would like answered, please ask them in the comments or contact me via my etsy shop. I will do my best to get a post up with answers to as many questions as I can in the future!

This post is brought to you by Crystal Gayle Photography and has been rewritten from its original format at http://crystalgaylephotography.blogspot.ca 

WEST Sale III -- When WESTies Create Together. .

Take 4 creative WESTies, add a huge piece of muslin, fabric scraps, a large board room table and what do you get?

A new WEST banner!

Want to see it? Join us on May 4 for the unveiling!

Special thanks to Caitlin (realswanky), Emily (emmsgems) and Ashlee(smashknits) for making this happen!

Ruth (periwinkledzyns) - WEST captain

August 2nd - Item of the Day

Mega PromoFrenzy Special Window Reflections - Fine Art Abstract Photography

By Crystal Photography

Instock and ready to ship!

A few of the many, many windows in a monsterous building at the hydro dam. This window caught my eye as it was one of the few that were clear, rather than patterned and reflected the view of the water in it. The many patterns were beautiful and I'd love to go back to capture some of them!
Someone asked if I was taking a picture of the dirty windows, but I saw beyond the dirty windows to what was reflected in them! Just another beautiful thing about photography!

This aceo print measures approximately 2.5" x 3.5" and features this wonderful photograph. The back of the aceo will be signed and dated, and also have my contact information.

This full color ACEO was printed at a professional photo lab in a high quality format on an archival kodak supra endura paper with lustre finish. No watermarks will be on the actual print. May be slightly cropped to adjust for printing size.

Other sizes, including square prints are available upon request.

Please see shipping policy for shipping times.

Color may vary slightly from one monitor to another.

************************************************************
Copyright © – Crystal Gayle Zacharias. All work contained herein is copyrighted and owned by the Photographer. Any reproduction, publication, modification, transmission or exploitation of any of the images for personal or commercial use without written permission from the Photographer is Prohibited. All rights reserved.

Feature Friday: Crystal Gayle Photography

I Wonder Fine Art Photography ACEO

Hi, my name is Crystal Zacharias, photographer of Crystal Gayle Photography. I'm a stay at home mom to two lovely children and a wife to a wonderful husband. I enjoy photographing many different subjects including flowers, landscapes, food and beverages, animals, and much more! I love to look through the viewfinder and capture things that aren’t always noticed by the human eye or in a unique and interesting view point.

What is your favourite item in your shop and why?
Right now my favourite item in my shop has to be the metal prints.  I ordered them in each of the four finishes to see what they would be like, and it’s one of the coolest things I’ve ever seen.  It’s so hard to show them on a photograph of what they really are.  The photos are put on a metal base rather than paper.  On two of the finishes, the metal shows where the photo would have had white in it as this process of printing does not print white.  I currently have one of these available for custom order in my shop and hoping this is going to be something that will do well.

Standing Tall Fine Art Photography Metal Print

Where do you find inspiration?
Most of my inspiration comes from God’s beautiful creations in nature itself.  I love to capture the beautiful things He’s placed on the earth for us to enjoy.  I also get inspiration from looking through other photographers’ work and seeing the unique ideas they have come up with, thus forming ideas of my own.

Blooming Beauty Fine Art Print

What is your best selling item?
My best selling item is my bookmarks.  It’s a small, affordable item that almost everyone can use and they can get nearly any print from my portfolio done as a bookmark.  Bookmarks are a simple way for me to have my photography out there and seen.  Each bookmark also has my contact information on the back, therefore the person using it can always come back and maybe one day even purchase a larger print.

Downy Woodpecker Fine Art Photography Bookmark

Why do you enjoy your craft?
I enjoy photography because it is something I can do anytime, anywhere.  I love learning all the ins and outs of my camera and experimenting with different settings, props, and more.  It’s an art that allows me express who I am and easily share it with others.

Winter Wonderland Greeting Cards with Envelopes

Places (other than Etsy) to find Crystal Gayle Photography online: 
Facebook page
Blog
Twitter

Places to find Crystal Gayle Photography locally:

I have some prints on consignment at Domo in Altona   I also have a table set up in the Altona mall across from Friesens Bookstore for the holiday season.